


Behind the Curtain of the Willow Tree

by UnspokenWords



Series: UnspokenWords Keithtober 2019 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, BROGANES ONLY, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Just Broganes, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keithtober, Keithtober 2019, Nature, Nymph Keith, Nymph Shiro, Water Nymph Allura, Water Nymph Coran, broganes, enchanted forest, ethereal, human Lance, human hunk, nymph au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnspokenWords/pseuds/UnspokenWords
Summary: Plants are the only things Keith really knows. He knows how they grow, where in the forest they are, what animals prey on them.He can hear them whispering.Keith has powers. He knows how to communicate with the plants, how to only use his powers on them. He knows how to bend them, how to accelerate their growth, how to accelerate their growth to follow his directions or movements, to be in a certain pattern. Keith only does that with their permission though. Keith could manipulate plants against their will, but he would never do that.One day, Keith hears the trees whispering. They tell him that someone has appeared in the connecting meadow. A human has appeared. No humans have been around for at least one hundred years.Keith doesn't know what to do.





	Behind the Curtain of the Willow Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I wrote this for Keithtober 2019, Day 3: Nature! This is based on my interpretation of nymphs, so if it's not entirely right, I'm sorry! I also know it's late, but I started writing it so late that day and couldn't finish it, so here it is! I'll still be doing Keithtober Day 4 though, so stay tuned!

Plants are the only things Keith really knows. He knows how they grow, where in the forest they are, what animals prey on them.

He can hear them whispering.

Keith wears a cloak made of wool. He knows it’s called a cloak because the trees told him. They told him about how long they’re been around, about all they’ve seen. They tell him about the humans that used to visit the meadow nearby, how they used to wear these things called cloaks to keep themselves warm, how they felt uncomfortable when someone showed as much skin as Keith had. They told him that they heard someone say that wool comes from sheep.

Keith remembers the day he went to visit his friend Pidge. They could speak to animals, so he asked about wool. They told him that it’s the fuzzy hair of sheep. Pidge tells him about how they made a cutting device in order to get the wool off of the sheep since too much of it makes them uncomfortable. They tell him that they’ve heard from the birds how to make something out of wool. Pidge is the one who made Keith his cloak.

They also made him a blanket for his den, for when it gets cold at night. Keith’s den is made of thin tree branches, weaved through each other into a dome. Moss grows over these branches, flowers bloom on the moss. It keeps Keith warm. Vines and grass cover the bottom of the den. They do not mind Keith laying on them, rather, they like the company. They do not mind Keith laying on them, so long as he does not hurt them or pull them up. Keith is careful not to.

Keith will only pick things if they want him to. He thinks about the flowers Allura braids into his hair. Keith remembers the daisies telling him that he would look pretty with flowers in his hair. He remembers them telling him to grow their stems out and to pick them so that Allura could put them in his hair. He remembers being cautious, he didn’t want to hurt them. They told him that it did not hurt. He remembers other flowers telling him that they wanted to be in his hair. That his hair is long, so many different flowers could fit. That they wanted to be with him too. Keith’s hair has many flowers braided into it. It’s held together by a vine, who volunteered itself to be used as a string. Keith remembers the vine saying it would be alright. Keith remembers the vine saying it hurt, crying out in pain, but being okay with it afterward. 

Keith hates hearing screams. He can hear the trees that scream when they chopped down for wood, even if they are miles away. He knows new life can be born from stumps, that he can help this new life grow, but he can not fix what is already broken. Every time he hears a scream, he remembers the quote the trees told him a long time ago.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it even make a sound?"

Keith knows that there is always someone in the forest. There is always someone around to hear the tree fall. Or the tree scream. If Keith isn’t in the forest, someone else always is. Here, that someone is Shiro.

Shiro never leaves the forest. He stays in his den. Shiro’s den isn’t like Keith’s. It’s made with twigs that have already fallen off of the trees, not tree branches he’s used his powers to bend. He does not have moss covering it to keep the inside warm. He has leaves that have fallen from the trees covering his den. His floor is the bare dirt, but he does not lay on it. He lays on a blanket. Shiro has more blankets than Keith, all made by Pidge. Shiro only leaves his den for food and water and to fix his shelter. And for Keith.

Shiro was the one who taught Keith how to use his powers; he was Keith’s mentor. When Keith arrived in this forest and meadow, his active powers hadn’t manifested yet. He was still only a kid, only had his passive powers, like hearing the trees. So, when they did manifest, Shiro taught him how to use his powers, like how to communicate with the plants, how to only use his powers on them with their permission. Keith could still manipulate plants against their will, but Keith wouldn’t do that. Shiro taught him not to. Shiro taught him how to bend, how to accelerate growth, how to accelerate growth to follow his directions.

Keith and Shiro used to use their powers together. They would ask trees if they could move their branches so more sunlight was able to shine on the plants below. They would get seeds from plants and buried them in the ground to ensure they survived. They would help the trees if there was mold or other fungus growing on them that could kill them. 

But Shiro doesn’t do that anymore. Not since the incident that cost him his arm. Shiro doesn’t use his powers anymore, even if he could. But, if he had to, he would leave his den and use his powers to help Keith, to help his brother. Shiro told him that the day of the incident, that if he needed to protect Keith, he would. He said that since was older and had his injury, Keith’s life was more important than his. Keith disagreed, which is why he still takes care of Shiro. Like how Shiro took care of him.

Today, on his way to take care of Shiro, Keith hears the plants whispering more than usual. He hears them as he walks to the lake. He hears the kelp whispering to each other as Allura gives him fish for him and Shiro. He hears the vines mumbling as he brings the fish to Shiro. He hears the lavender mumbling as he starts a fire to cook the fish.

_ There was someone in the meadow today, _ the trees tell Keith later, once he has left Shiro to go back to his own den. _ They were looking for something. I think it was lavender. Or was it rosemary? They didn’t speak loud enough for me to hear. _

Someone in the meadow? Keith has never seen anyone in the meadow. The trees said no one had been here for a hundred years or more. Why would someone be here? 

Keith has to protect Shiro. He has to protect himself. He can’t let anything happen to his forest or something will happen to him too. He can not end up like his parents.

So Keith decides to investigate. He makes his way through the forest, into the meadow. There is no one there when he arrives, but he does not leave. He asks the grass and dandelions what they have seen. They tell him of a human boy with brown hair and blue eyes, tan skin, walking through the meadow. They tell him that the boy was careful not to step on any flowers. They tell him that the boy was looking for herbs, that he heard that lavender and rosemary grew somewhere nearby. They tell him that the boy picked a dying flower, but he did so carefully.

Keith doesn’t know what to think. A human who tried not to hurt the plants? He has never heard of such a thing. Humans burn down forests, cut down trees, grow flowers only to cut them and sell them when they are healthy and in their prime. Keith has never heard of a human who tries to not hurt the plants. And this human picked a dying flower? Why would he do such a kind act? Why would he put the flower out of its misery if it didn’t look the best to him?

Keith doesn’t know what to make of it, but he does know where the lavender and rosemary are. He knows they are deeper in the forest. He knows he doesn’t want this human coming any closer to them, doesn’t want this human wrecking havoc in the forest. Doesn’t want the human to come across Shiro. Should he hide the lavender and rosemary so the boy can never find it, or should he bring the plants here and grow them so the boy doesn’t go any farther in?

Keith decides on the latter. He goes into the forest, where the lavender and rosemary are. He finds the dried-up buds of the lavender and asks them if he could shake them to get their seeds. Tells them that he is going to plant them elsewhere to make sure someone doesn’t come into the forest. The lavender says yes, and Keith gets the seeds. Keith then goes to the rosemary and asks some of the younger shoots if he can break them, grow out their roots, and plant them elsewhere. They tell him yes, that they overheard what he said to the lavender, that they are willing to help. So Keith does just that.

He takes his shoots and lavender seeds and brings them back to the edge of the meadow. He plants them. He grows them. They thank him for all that he’s done, tell him to bring them some water. So he does. He goes to the lake, asks Allura for some water, and she gives him some in a rock that Coran shaped into a bowl. He brings the water to the plants and waters them.

_ Keith, you need to leave, _ they whisper. Keith doesn’t understand why. He brought them water like they asked.

“Um, hello. Who are you?”

Keith’s head whips up. A boy with brown hair, tan skin, and blue eyes. The human from earlier. And he’s is looking at Keith weird. Is it the cloak? Is it the hair with the flowers. Did he catch him growing the plants? Does he know?

Right. The human asked him a question. Keith should probably answer.

“Keith.” Perfect answer. Not too much information about him, just enough that the human isn’t suspicious. Hopefully, he will go away.

“Hi Keith, I’m Lance. Nice to meet you.” So the human had a name. At least it was easier than just calling him the human.

“Do you live around here?” Lance asks.

“Yes.”

“So do I! I just moved into the cabin down the road.”

“Wait, you _ moved in?”_ If Lance moved in, that meant he was going to be here often. Which meant he was more likely to find Shiro. Keith didn’t want him to find Shiro or the forest. Or Pidge, or Allura, or Coran. 

“Uh, yes?” Lance raises an eyebrow at Keith. “Me and my friend Hunk moved in.”

He also had a _ friend__?_ This meant even _ more _ humans could be here. And Lance also just kept talking to Keith. Keith just wants him to go away. And leave forever.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, neighbor, if you really are my neighbor. I’ll see you around another time.” Lance walks off. Keith watches him. Lance picks up a small cloak as he leaves. That was probably why he came back. He must have left it here.

Keith asks the trees what the small cloak is. They tell him that Lance called it a hoodie. Keith thinks it’s interesting. Maybe he could ask Pidge to make him one for when autumn comes around. Yes, that sounds nice. Maybe having a human around might have one upside.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic! I had so many other ideas I wanted to add, and I had this whole AU planned out, but I thought I would rather leave it open-ended so I could finish it for Keithtober! It was also going to be a little more Klance centered if I continued, but I decided I would rather let this just be about Keith more than Klance, especially for his month!
> 
> There were some ideas and backstories that got left out, so I'll put them here!
> 
>   1. Keith's parents used to belong to a different forest, and so did Keith. But, one day, their forest burned down. Since their life force is connected to the forest, they were dying. But Keith wasn't connected to the forest yet since his powers hadn't manifested. So, they brought him to a different forest before they died. So Keith is connected to the forest and meadow seen here, not the one he was at when he was a kid with his parents. 
>   2. Shiro's accident occurred with humans, which is why Keith is so hesitant to let humans anywhere near the forest or Keith. His accident was also partially used by his use of his powers, so he doesn't use them anymore. 
>   3. Romelle is also a human! She's friends with Hunk, but she didn't move in with Hunk and Lance. She occasionally visits, and if she ever wandered into the forest and found the lake, I'm sure she would be entranced with Allura.
> 
> Please comment your thoughts below, or find me at any of these links!
> 
> Twitter: [@_keithtrash_](https://twitter.com/_keithtrash_)
> 
> Tumblr: [Tumblr](https://unspoken-words-ao3.tumblr.com/)


End file.
